Jeremy Jacquet was arguably Liverpool’s key man during their turnaround win against Brentford on Saturday afternoon.

The Frenchman did not get on the scoresheet, and was probably not the Reds’ best performer on the day, but it was his winding up of Bees midfielder Yehor Yarmolyuk which prompted the game’s decisive moment.

Jacquet showed how much Brentford win meant to him

Some opposition fans probably won’t be happy with the way Jacquet hit the ground in response to Yarmolyuk’s head movement towards him. But the truth is that he was within his rights to go, and it was a completely justified reaction.

We wouldn’t go as far as saying that the centre-back deserves praise, but it is without question that Liverpool have not shown enough of this gamesmanship over recent seasons. Having had these kinds of tactics used against them many times, it was nice to be on the right side of it for once.

Jacquet has been a breath of fresh air in many ways this season, and it has been nice to see how quickly he has become invested in winning games for Liverpool.

The same is true of Bradley Barcola, who celebrated like he had just scored himself after Isak’s goal, racing to the away fans with the Swede and copying his trademark celebration.

Jacquet was much further from the action, but cameras caught him back towards the centre circle. As the ball hit the net, the France international fell to his knees, appearing to clench his fists and look up to the sky. Elation.

Jacquet passes another test for Liverpool

Jacquet has quickly cemented his reputation as one of the best young defenders in world football having hit the ground running at Liverpool.

Brentford had been expected to provide a stern test for the youngster, though, with Keith Andrews’ team generally a nightmare to play against.

But just as he has on every other one of his 10 appearances for Liverpool, Jacquet passed the test with flying colours.

Along with Virgil van Dijk, he had the joint-most defensive contributions, with 13, which included four tackles, one last man tackle, four interceptions, four clearances and two recoveries.

Jacquet was also brilliant with the ball at his feet, making a hugely impressive eight line-breaking passes and attempting three dribbles, completing two.

In short, the former Rennes man put in an absolute shift, and it was clear to see exactly what Liverpool winning the game meant to him. Jacquet is fully settled in at Anfield, and he is getting better and better.